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More than 95,000 people have been officially registered as disappeared in Mexico as of last Friday, according to a report by UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
That includes a worrying increase in the number of women and children, a trend that has worsened during the pandemic, with migrants particularly at risk. UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances noted that more than 100 disappearances allegedly took place just during the course of their fact-finding mission. In a statement, the Committee urged Mexican authorities to quickly locate those who have gone missing, identify the deceased and take prompt action to investigate all cases. The delegation of the UN Committee On Enforced Disappearances went to 13 Mexican states and held 48 meetings with more than 80 different authorities. Members also met hundreds of victims, and dozens of victims' collectives and civil society organisations, from almost every part of the country. They witnessed exhumations and search expeditions in the states of Morelos, Coahuila and the state of Mexico, visited the Human Identification Centre in Coahuila, and went to several federal, state and migrant detention centres. This was their first visit to the country, granted under article 33 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearance. For the Committee, Mexico's acceptance of the visit is a clear expression of the State's openness to international scrutiny and support. "We acknowledge that some legal and institutional progress has been made in recent years, but enforced disappearances are still widespread and impunity is almost absolute", the experts said in a statement. With more than 52,000 unidentified bodies of deceased people, the Committee argues that "the fight against impunity cannot wait." (ANI)
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